A runner leaps over the logs of fire obstacle during the final leg of The Warrior Dash in Genesee Township on July 26, 2014. Laura McDermott | MLive.comLaura McDermott | MLive.com

Doug Newberry strolled past the finish line, his long-time girlfriend, Adriane Turlo and friends nearby, and plopped to the ground. He was tired, gasping for breath in between every word.

Turlo, an avid runner, told him to get up.

"It was wet, muddy," Newberry said.

Turlo jumped in: "It was very muddy."

Saturday, July 26, marked the first day of the fourth installment of the Michigan Warrior Dash at the E.A. Cummings Center near Mt. Morris. Nearly 20,000 runners were expected to turn out for the two-day, 3.2-mile wooded obstacle course, bring families, friends and couples together for a few hours of fun and mud.

Blake and Ashley Malliett spent their one-year wedding anniversary last July hiking the mountains in Colorado.

This year, with their two-year mark on Monday, they opted to stay closer to home. The Commerce Township couple entered the 8 a.m. competitive wave together, ran together and finished together shortly before 9 a.m.

"She definitely pushed it," Blake Malliett said.

This was his first Warrior Dash — the third for Ashley Malliette, who trains regularly in CrossFit. She finished fifth in the competitive wave and qualified for the Warrior Dash nationals in northern California.

"I love the competitive aspect of it," she said. "I'm not afraid to get a little dirty — and I like the obstacles."

The 12 obstacles, including the debut of Red Frog Events' newest attraction The Goliath, requiring participants to climb up a cargo net, walk across wood beams and slide down into a pool of muddy water, weren't really an issue for Blake Malliett.

"It was the three miles of running," he said.

"You did good," said his wife.

Costumes and team shirts were common on the Warrior Dash site Saturday.

There was a group dressed like prisoners chained to one another with a mock county jail deputy pulling them along. There was a group of four dressed like nerds.

There were lots of color-coded T-shirts and outfits.

Shortly before 9 a.m., Steve Mitchell and friends were crowded around the starting line with matching orange T-shirts representing their tabletop tennis team.

Each had a unique slogan on the back. There was "Dungeon Master," Mitchell was "Healer" and Brooke Ujvari, of Royal Oak, was "Purge 89."

"We're the Agents of Awesome," said Mitchell, who traveled from Lincoln Park. This was his first Warrior Dash. "I lost a bunch of weight and decided to do it."

Said Ujvari: "I love running this race. It's just fun — the obstacles change every year and it's a good time to come out."

And then there was Andy and Jacob Bowman, 20-year-old blond brothers from Gaylord.

The two are cross country and track runners at Oakland University. They tried running last year's race but by the time they went to sign up registration was already full.

They made sure not to make that mistake again this year, and turns out they ended up finishing first and second, respectively, in the competitive wave.

"We thought we would be close," said Andy Bowman. "Everyone who got us to sign up said we could win this.

"We were going to go out there and do what we could."

The two are as close as they come — they are technically triplets with their sister, who was running the race later in the day — and consider each other best friends.

They started the race together and motivated one another to finish.

"We got past the first mile and three obstacles and Jake was a little bit lagging, and I had to say, 'let's go,'" Andy Bowman said.

Warrior Dash continues on Sunday, July 27. Cloudy skies, 80 degrees and a good chance of rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast.